The Convention※1 Relating to the Status of Refugees defines a refugee as “any person who…owing to well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, is outside the country of his nationality and is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country; or who, not having a nationality and being outside the country of his former habitual residence as a result of such events, is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to return to it.”
As of December 31, 2015, there are approximately 65.3 million refugees including internally displaced persons and “persons of concern” to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)※2. In addition, many other people have been forced to evacuate their homes. Countries including Japan, under the leadership of UNHCR, have been carrying out international protections and support activities for them.

※1 The definition of the legal protections and the status of refgees is stipulated in the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, and the 1967 Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees. Japan acceded to both of them in 1981.※2 According to the United Nations estimates, the world population in 2015 is 7.349 billion. It is calculated that one in every 113 persons in the world is a refugee.

Who are Indo-Chinese Refugees?

Indo-Chinese Refugees are people who fled abroad by boats (boat people) or to neighboring countries by land (land people) to avoid the political disturbance and internal wars from three Indo-Chinese countries; Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia after the end of the wars in 1975. Approximately 1.3 million Indo-Chinese refugees have resettled in countries such as the United States, Australia, Canada and Japan via refugee camps in the Asian regions or as boat people.

Who are Resettled Refugees?

Resettled refugees are people who resettle from the country of first asylum to a third country, which agrees to accept those refugees.